La Masseria  

235 West 48th Street NYC, (212) 582-2111 Mon,5:00, to 11:00, Tues. and Sat. 4:30 to 12:00 pm, Wed. to Fri. 5:00pm to 12:00 am. Sunday 3:00 pm to 10:30 pm

While visiting Manhattan we booked a Broadway play and decided to make a dinner reservation near the theatre.  We had no idea we were in for a memorable meal at La Masseria.  It has 1 Michelin Star!

The inside is spacious and there is a large outside patio.

We purposely made an early reservation so that we could take our time.  Our waiter (who talked like Joe Pesci) was efficient and very personable.  We reviewed the menu.

A wonderful, fresh basket of breads arrived along with a delicious caper oil for dipping.

My wife and son Thomas and I split a beef carpaccio three ways - the arugula was very fresh, the parmigiano was copious and the beef was so tender.  The entire plate was huge and cold.

My wife and son chose for their main the gnocchi.  They were like marshmallow pillows - the best they ever had!!

For my main I chose the fettuccine bolognese.  The pasta was house made and extremely thin and very tender.  The bolognese was filled with flavour and very generous.

 For desert - I was excited to see tartuffo and it did not disappoint - it was well presented and yummy.

My wife had the tiramisu and it was very light and generous.

Thomas had the creme brulee it was large and delicious.

This was one of the finest meals we have had in any Italian restaurant anywhere.  The service was excellent and the food was divine!  We highly recommend it when in New York!!

http://www.lamasserianyc.com/

 

BECCO 

355 W 46th Street, New York, Hell's Kitchen New York, New York (212) 397-7597

Located on restaurant row in the Theatre District of Manhattan (West 46th Street).  Becco is part of the Bastianich chain owned by the famous television chef Lidia Bastianich and her son Joe.  It was opened in 1993 and since then has been a staple in the theatre district.

It is composed of many intimate areas just below street level.

We made our reservation rather early, since we were booked at a jazz club nearby for 8:30, but we were in no hurry.  We enjoy good Italian food and had lots of time.  We were ushered into one of the rear rooms that had a large skylight and was almost like eating al fresco.

It was early, so the restaurant was quiet, however it did not take long to fill up.  Our table was prepared with nice linen napkins, an incredible bread basket that included a variety of very fresh breads (the breadsticks were our favourites).  There was also a nice variety of spiced olives and a rich herbed butter in olive oil - very unusual but very tasty.

The wine selection here was outstanding and large.  All wines were priced the same $29.  This alone was worth the visit!  

We selected a wonderful Valpolicella Ripasso, it was smooth as silk.  There were so many good wines on this list - it was hard to choose.

In viewing the menu, we saw that there was a price fix available for $23.95, which included salad and a choice of 3 different pasta varieties available that evening.

We decided to go a la carte and chose caesar salad and a main from the extensive menu.  Only a portion of which is shown below.

Caesar Salad

My wife selected the calves liver. The liver was pan seared with bacon, caramelized onions, crispy polenta, drizzled with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It was was melt in your mouth perfectly cooked.

I chose one of the evening's specials veal scallopini done in a butter, wine and sherry sauce with capers and lemon.  It was divine and very rich in flavour.

It was accompanied by a garlic and olive oil spinach side dish.

We completed our meal with a strawberry cheesecake (I could not believe they did not have a tiramisu or tartuffo).  We did however eat the cheesecake so fast I forgot to take a photo of it.  We completed our dessert with delicious Cappucino coffees. 

By the time we left, the restaurant was jammed to capacity!

We really enjoyed our meal here - however it was much too hurried, we barely had time to savour each course and the bill arrived on our table.  I would recommend they retain an area in this large restaurant for those not in a hurry for a Broadway show.

http://becco-nyc.com/

 

ABERDEEN TAVERN

432 Aberdeen Avenue, Hamilton On. (905) 523-7707, Closed Monday, Tues. - Sat. 11:30 am to 11:00 pm, Sun. 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

On a nice Thursday evening at the end of April we decided to try Aberdeen Tavern.  We had driven by many times and had heard a lot of good things about it and it seemed time to see for ourselves what good things were happening here.

There is a lovely outside patio that is always busy during the summer months.  In its previous life it was a bank and a quiet restaurant, but the new owners breathed new life into the space and it is quite different now.

The bar space is large and inviting. The layout works well.

The three of us were seated at a table near the bar area and were immediately greeted with a rather classy menu folder.

We selected a bottle from an extensive list of wines. It was one of their house reds Quattro Fontamara red and it was quite smooth and reasonably priced.  

We then selected our appetizers. My son Mark chose (as he always does) the pork belly - it was the Hoisin Glazed Pork Belly - he was quite impressed.

My wife and I chose the caesar salad - it was unique and delicious because it was not drenched in caesar dressing and had wonderful pancetta slices, garlic croutons and some parmesan.

Their list of mains caters to most tastes and has nice variety. 

Mark chose the butternut squash ravioli and enjoyed it.

My wife had the Lake Erie pickerel, it was surrounded with very flavourful accompaniments including olives, bacon puree and artichoke.

For my main I felt like a good pasta - and they did not disappoint.  I chose the shrimp and asparagus linguini. The linguini was perfectly cooked, the shrimp were tasty and tender in the white wine and butter sauce.

The three of us thoroughly enjoyed our evening here.  The space was very inviting, the meal was unhurried, the clientele were enjoying themselves and the atmosphere was great.  We will definitely return to enjoy more wonderful meals and evenings here.  Outstanding!!

http://theaberdeen.ca/

BISTRO SIX ONE 

61-63 Queen Street, Niagara on the Lake, On., (905) 468-2532, Lunch and Dinner 7 days a week

On a cool, but sunny March afternoon my wife and I decided to take a drive to one of our favourite tourist places, Niagara on the Lake.  It is a quaint and historic village that has the famous Shaw theatre, along with a variety of boutiques and restaurants.  Being the off season for tourists, some shops were closed, but the restaurants were all open.  We decided to try Bistro Six One after reading their menu posted near the front door.

The inside has a variety of booth seating which we like.

Located in the centre of Ontario's wine region, restaurants here tend to feature the local wineries in their wine lists.  We chose our favourite local wine from Jackson Triggs, their Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc blend VQA, a full bodied red with a rich flavour.

The menu has a nice variety to choose from including wood oven pizza, sandwiches, salads and mains.  

Since it was late afternoon, we decided on a salad and sandwich.  We both chose the Caesar salad.  The romaine was fresh and crisp, the bacon was real and the parmesan cheese and croutons were delicious.

For her sandwich, my wife chose the ham and brie melt on multigrain bread.  It had thin layers of smoked ham, soft brie cheese and a wonderful pepper jelly that was very tasty.  It was accompanied by a mound of french fries.

I decided on the grilled chicken ciabatta.  It had tender grilled chicken, lettuce, bacon and cheese.  The bread was crisp and fresh and the sandwich was excellent.  It too, was served with fries.

It was a wonderful meal in a peaceful restaurant with nice music and good wine.  We will definitely be back again.

  

http://www.bistrosixone.com/index.htm